We all get crazy ideas.
It may seem like a normal melancholy day, as you sit there, minding your own business, sipping coffee and wasting time on the internet – when BAM! – the most brilliant idea you’ve ever had flies into your skull.
It’s like THE answer you’ve been waiting for. It’s that brand new idea, that business venture, or side-hustle you’ve been waiting for all along.
But then, as the hours pass, you talk yourself out of it. You find a list of “cons” to why you can’t pursue this new idea.
And you go back to your pathetic life, depressed at your lack of ambition, and stare aimlessly into the abyss of the internet – praying it will swallow your soul.
Ideas – Why
How do these ideas come into our head, and what should we do with them?
Seriously, why does this happen?
Everyone gets ideas, some good, some bad. And why are we compelled to pursue certain ones?
The other day I nearly applied as an Editor for a national magazine. I was like, “This is the perfect job” I’ll get to edit all day, hang out with writers, and be in my element. This is a life changing idea.
Then I talked myself out of it.
For one, I’d have to move. Second, I’m not qualified. And third, I actually don’t like to edit.
Maybe you can tell – and hopefully you can’t – but I manage to work in such a way to do minimal editing. I hate editing.
Why did I ever think I would be a good editor? I’d be an awful editor.
Editing sucks.
Ideas – Horrible
When I write something horrible, and I hate it, I chuck it.
I say it’s a practice piece and I set it aside, to hide in a drawer, never to see the light of day again.
I have hundreds of practice pieces, hundreds of thousands of words. A million words. More than enough to fill multiple volumes of books.
Why? I don’t know.
I’m insane is the best answer.
But I’m also practicing my craft, having fun, and enjoying myself. It’s just fun.
And the bigger answer too, is I hate editing.
If a writing sample is bad, there’s no saving it. I’m not going to spend endless months trying to fix it, only to get nowhere, and have lost all that precious time I could have been writing.
That’s not fun.
If it’s not fun, I don’t want to do it – especially in my free time – when there’s other distracting options pulling me away (like YouTube).
Ideas – Rules
And another problem is I’m terrible at rules.
Not like grammar and spelling – but like I have an affinity for writing how I think – using waaaay too many em-dashes – – – – and using commas, in, the, wrong, place, just, for, fun, even, though, I, know, it’s, wrong.
I can breeze through an article, looking for mistakes and edits – but I hardly care. I like how individual writers write. I like their unique style. It’s like a fingerprint for who they are and what they have to say. It’s like a view into their soul.
It’s their voice.
Ideas – Ann
I follow Ann Voskamp.
She’s a best-selling Christian author with a deep heart for God. Her journey is spectacular.
I hate to raise someone on a pedestal and be like “This is how a Christian woman should be.” But like seriously, this is how a Christian anyone (man or woman) should be.
What I love most about Ann is her complex style of writing.
If you read a paragraph it’s not entirely clear what she said or where she’s headed. It’s like how most women must feel and think, with a million thoughts jumbled around in their mind. Her writing jumps around like that.
It’s confusing.
But if you go into her writing, knowing she’s speaking from her soul, and these are her deepest, darkest thoughts – then it’s a lovely view into a Jesus-seeking heart.
To Ann, this is personal. And it’s art.
Ideas – Haters
I’m sure Ann gets lots of crap.
Even in the midst of her thousands of supporters and readers, there’s gotta be a bunch of haters.
It’s hard to read her writing. It’s like reading poetry – it’s not for everyone.
I can only imagine the first manuscript she sent out for publishing. An editor must have been thinking, “What is this nightmare?” – reject.
What if Ann had listened to those neigh-sayers – that she can’t write?
Sadly, we’d be missing her wisdom. All the ladies (and men?) she’s helping, would have a gaping hole in their life. And that’s not good.
It doesn’t matter if you can’t write. It doesn’t matter if you can’t run a business. It doesn’t matter if you’re not qualified, or not good enough, or allow the opinions of others to rule your life.
If you’re not following your ideas, and pursuing what matters to you, then you’re not living the life God created for you to live.
Ideas – Adventure
A Pinterest board said, “Adventure will hurt you, but a life of monotony will kill you.”
That’s not like the smartest quote I’ve ever seen, so I’m changing it to this:
“Pursuing God will hurt you, but life without Him will kill you.”
(Yeah, that’s right. I’m making up my own quotes now. Gonna run my own Pinterest board, go viral and stuff…)
This road we’re all on – this “life” – is full of pitfalls, and struggles, and hurts. No one ever said it would be easy.
Having God by our side gives us a “buddy” on the journey – a best friend whispering in our ear that everything will be ok, as we’ll be serving His Kingdom.
But no one ever said you’ll be comfortable, or living in luxury, or free from pain. Maybe quite the opposite.
There are thousands of examples of martyrs and people “uncomfortable” while pursing God. I like to think of Paul, chilin’ in prison, just writing away and jotting those letters.
Where would we be without his sacrifice? An entire chunk of the New Testament would be missing.
And I’m sure he didn’t willingly choose prison.
But he had an attitude of, “I’m serving God, and it’ll be ok.”
So stop being a baby, and suck it up.
It’ll be ok.
